1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector system, particularly to a system for sterile connection, e.g. as part of a system for conveying fluids to or from a patient. This is useful, for example, for connecting a patient side transfer tube (extension tube) with a container of dialysis solution when a dialysis solution for peritoneal dialysis is exchanged. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector system for sterile connection provided with a function of securely disinfecting a connecting portion with a simple operation when the connecting and detaching are repeated.
2. Related Background Art
Peritoneal dialysis is a medical treatment method in which a dialysis solution is stored in a patient's abdominal cavity by way of a peritoneal catheter that is implanted surgically in the patient's abdominal cavity beforehand, so that impurities accumulated in the body are filtered using capillary vessels in the peritoneum. The patient undertakes daily activities while a transfer tube (extension tube), which is used continuously for a half year, is connected to the end of the catheter. Then the patient himself connects a bag containing a dialysis solution with a front end of the transfer tube four times per day to exchange the dialysis solution in the abdominal cavity.
The most serious problem to be addressed for carrying out the peritoneal dialysis is bacteria in the air or attached to the skin mistakenly entering into the abdominal cavity during the operation of exchanging the dialysis solution as required four times per day. If bacteria enter into the abdominal cavity, these bacteria cause inflammation of the peritoneum to develop peritonitis. As a result, for treating the peritonitis, the catheter might be extracted in bad cases, which leads to a situation incapable of continuing the peritoneal dialysis. Furthermore, the peritonitis repeated for a long term degrades the function of a peritoneum, and as a result, sufficient efficiencies of the dialysis cannot be obtained, or the patient might suffer from sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis (SEP) that is intractable and leads to bad prognosis, including possible death.
Thus, in the peritoneal dialysis, it is important, when the dialysis solution is exchanged, to reduce the contamination by bacteria of a connector that connects a transfer tube and a container of dialysis solution. Conventionally, products for connecting tubes by melting with a heated copper plate or for disinfecting a connecting portion with ultraviolet rays are available commercially for preventing the contamination by bacteria. However, since these products necessarily require units dedicated to the products, a patient always has to carry the unit. Moreover, in the event of problems with the unit, serious problems might occur.
Meanwhile, in connection methods that do not use such units, a male and female screw type connector still is utilized. In these methods, since a channel for the dialysis solution necessarily becomes open in the connecting operation, it is virtually impossible to prevent the contamination by bacteria.
As for connecting members that do not require units and can prevent the contamination by bacteria, various structures have been examined until now. Examples of those ideas are a structure using a septum, which is pushed open to realize the fitting for connection, a structure where a lid member is opened and closed automatically when connectors are fitted, and a structure where fitting is realized by breaking a film covering a connecting portion.
However, all of those structures have problems in that their mechanism becomes complicated, their size becomes large and the required functions cannot be obtained sufficiently, and therefore none of them have been put into practical use.